Target CEO resigns: Brand rebound stalls

Target President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel resigned Monday amid a seemingly stalled consumer perception rebound following its well-publicized security breach just before Christmas.

Utilizing YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score, with a range from -100 to 100, and zero being equal positive and negative feedback, Target hit its lowest score in more than seven years, a -29, on January 24th of this year. To put that score in perspective, in mid-December, Target’s Buzz score was a healthy 32, its highest of the year. Before this incident, Target had never been measured in negative territory.

By February 23rd, Target had crossed back over into the positive, and made it as high as an 18 Buzz score on April 22nd before slipping down to its current 13 score.

Target was measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score, which asks "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" All respondents were age 18 and over.